SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS: Mercedes have decided who will partner Lewis Hamilton next year, team boss Toto Wolff said on Saturday after George Russell, widely tipped to land the drive, took a stunning second place for Williams in a wet qualifying for the Belgian Grand Prix. The 23-year-old Briton, whose career has been backed by Formula One champions Mercedes, and incumbent Valtteri Bottas have been the two drivers in contention for the seat. An announcement was expected in the build-up to the Belgian Grand Prix, the first race after Formula One’s summer holiday. But Russell and Bottas, appearing together in Thursday’s press conference, said they had no news to share and were tight-lipped about whether a decision had been communicated to them. “Yes,” was all Wolff – faced with a renewed barrage of questions after Russell’s heroic qualifying display – said, when asked if his team had made a decision. Not giving away who had been picked, the Austrian said the decision had been complicated by the need to find a suitable alternative for the driver missing out. “Both deserve to be looked after in the best possible way because both of them are part of the family and we hold them up high,” said the Austrian. —agencies
